Today’s morning Inbox discusses the surprise success of Sports Champions and puts in a theoretical pre-order for Batman: Arkham City. To add your own comments just email us at
gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk.

Pokémon Black/White – the biggest thing ever

Failing to succeedOh boy, have you seen the sales figures for Pokémon Black/White over the weekend? Apparently it sold 2.63 million copies in just two days – that makes it the fastest selling video game ever in Japan. Not bad for something I think most people had dismissed as an unwanted stopgap before a new 3DS sequel.For the first time though I’m actually kind of upset that a Pokémon game did really well because I really wanted a new game on the 3DS and ideally on the Wii (or Wii 2). But if it’s doing well just as it is, that doesn’t leave Nintendo with much incentive to do things differently does it?Weird thing is this is the second time I’ve wanted a Nintendo game to do bad just so the next game would be different. At least Metroid: Other M was a flop…Don LegendoFighting rosterReading about Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 got me wondering why Nintendo didn’t include any Capcom characters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I am thinking of other companies that could do a Super Smash Bros. type game and only Sega, Capcom and possibly Konami and Namco Bandai come to mind with a roster of recognisable characters. What do other readers think?Alek KazamHoping to be proven wrongI agree with a lot of Ty Conlon’s points and I hope it didn’t seem like I want to promote games as a force for moral good, like some evangelising fool. I however feel the level ‘No Russian’ is a bad example. It seems to be intelligent and daring but it lacks any contextualisation, so why do I care what happens? If we had played several levels previously as the character, as he fights for the army, gets picked for the undercover op, and slowly works his way into the organisation, than I might have cared. I may have felt that the actions had some weight. I just feel it could have been a far more difficult and powerful scene had there been a build up to it, a degree of characterisation. It’s kinda like (spoiler warning) finding out Luke is Darth Vader’s son without any of the backstory. I like the idea, the attempt, but video games need to go a long way yetRE: OrbitMonkey. I concede that the game hasn’t yet been released, and may yet surprise even me with a compelling and interesting narrative that grapples with the complexities of modern interventionist warfare in remote, poor, politically ravaged countries. I just think it’s unlikely, we’ve yet to have a video game set in a war zone that approaches the eloquence of a rather trashy book or cheesy film. I’m saying this, and I love video games, but for their gameplay not their story, which is why I worry when they step into murky waters. But I’m ready to be surprised, and I hope, I really do, that I’m proved wrong. I love being wrong when the consequences would be so good. I want games that challenge my beliefs, that take me to places I hadn’t thought about, or show me a different view of the world, and do so as well as being good games. So fingers crossed for Medal Of Honor.Mathew Phillips

Catch up on every previous Games Inbox here

Who to blameI think this year has seen my gaming expectations slightly cursed. I was hoping that Naughty Bear would be the game that came from nowhere, surprised and delighted, sadly it was a mess. I was also pinning some sort of naïve hope that Metroid: Other M would be out of this world, but trusting GC’s word it turned out to be mediocre – so I will wait for the price to match.I have also been waiting for Sony’s Move to come along before giving Heavy Rain a shot, so downloaded the Move demo at the weekend, possibly the silliest, most pointless and abstract use of motion controls imaginable. Pure frustration.My fingers are firmly crossed my curse doesn’t extend to Enslaved: Odyssey To The West. The demo has really sold this game to me.UglyGeezer (Twitter)Too good to be true?I’ve just watched the BioShock Infinite ‘gameplay’ video and all I can say is wow! Possibly the best looking game I’ve seen this generation. My only concern is that it all looks slightly too good. Do you think the video may be pre-rendered rather than actual in-game footage?Michael LaycockGC:It’s probably not pre-rendered but it does seem to be heavily scripted and clearly isn’t just live footage of someone randomly playing.A good startGot to say I’m a little surprised to see Sports Champions so high in the UK charts. Obviously it didn’t get to number one because of Halo: Reach, but it looks like it would’ve if it was any other week. Considering there hasn’t been that much marketing for Move I think that’s a bit of an eye-opener.If you imagine what’s going to happen with Kinect, which Microsoft are spending a fortune on adverts for, I think both systems are going to be a lot bigger than people think this Christmas.FrankyEscape From ArkhamDid anyone see the Official PlayStation mag had a big feature on Batman: Arkham City? Looks really good to me. First one came pretty much out of nowhere but doesn’t look like they’re just knocking out another sequel quickly. A mix of Batman and Escape From New York sounds great and they blatantly hint that some kind of vehicle will be in it. Also Catwoman is the co-op character.I would’ve been impressed if they’d had the nerve to do Robin but I’m sold either way. Pity it’s not out till next year though.Bash Street KidBlame a pirate dayJust saw that Capcom are not going to release Super Street Fighter IV because of too much piracy. I really hate the way PC gamers think they can just pirate anything and there’s no consequence. Capcom even say that normal Street Fighter IV did pretty well, but it was pirated so much there’s no way they’d make a profit doing any more.Gareth GangreneInbox also-ransAfter watching that Mario advert, I think a new gamertag would be appropriate: JAMIE CULLUM MUST DIEVicchrisJust want to say well done to Mathew Phillips. His feature was erudite, balanced and shows that GameCentral has a gaming readership of maturity, of which most websites would be jealous. Good work.Mr Verbosity (gamertag)/Mr_Verbosity (PSN ID)RE: MitchLive. Confusing two sets of controls happens to me quite a lot, with my fondest memory probably being after playing a Dragon Ball Z fighting game. TheI tried to dash forward and beam attack Roy Jones, Jr. in Fight Night. Good times.SteveLove the new site, took a while to get used to it. Any chance of adding a dedicated mobile site? Metro Mobile only shows a small portion of the fantastic GC! Keep up the good work!RyuheiSasagawa (gamertag)GC:It’s all supposed to be on the to do list, but as you can imagine it is all rather out of our hands.This week’s Hot TopicYou’ve had plenty of time to play it now so this week’s discussion asks the big question: what do you think of Halo: Reach?What were your expectations for the game and has it lived up to them? What are the best new features and what were you disappointed in? What do you think of the story campaign and how does it compare to previous titles? What do you think of the multiplayer and is it still the best in the business?If you haven’t played the game what were the main reasons for not doing so? What would you like to see happen with future Halo games, in terms of story and features, now that original developer Bungie has left?E-mail your comments to:gamecentral@ukmetro.co.ukThe small printNew Inbox updates appear twice daily, every weekday morning and afternoon. Letters are used on merit and may be edited for length.You can also submit your own 400 to 500-word 4Player viewer features at any time, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.If you wish to vote in the Readers’ Top of 2010 simply send us an e-mail with a list of your three favourite games of the year so far. Please vote only for games released in the UK during 2010.